For the last 7 months I have been working on a nationwide photography project called “Redefining WE.” I collaborated with [primarily] female photographers around the United States to create a collection of images that dismantles stereotypes, facilitate dialogue, and create a sense of mutuality between Muslim and Christian women. 

I wore a hijab (head scarf) for a day last week. I'd been invited to participate in World Hijab Day by a friend who is Muslim and wears a head covering. I took her up on the friendly challenge because I don't often get to walk in someone else's shoes and expand my experience of the world. 

Today on the blog, we have something a bit different. This post was written by Christen Hansel, a friend of Peace Catalyst's, for her personal blog and we're reposting it here with her permission. It's very personal and a bit different than what we usually post, but it is a powerful story and one we hope will move you as much as it did us.

The year from spring 2011 to the coming spring of 2012 has been a year full of women proclaiming “Peace!” at the top of their lungs. Not quiet wishes for tranquility or ease, but bold pushes toward equity and right-ness, even as they are buffeted in the process.

Already when we lived in Egypt from 1989 to 1992, it had become a rare sight to see young women without the hijab (hair covering, plus modest dress of one sort or another), except for the Christian girls. My wife always went out with a scarf on her head, if only to show that she was not a “loose western woman,” as depicted in the American soap operas Egyptians loved to watch.

First, when it comes to women and clothing, let’s get one misconception out of the way: “Islam oppresses women.” That is the default statement that, even when not stated outright, is assumed by non-Muslim westerners while their minds dance with this image of Muslim women waddling down the road covered in black cloth from head to toe.

You know from my last blog that large majorities of Muslims worldwide believe that women should have the same civil, political and professional rights as men. Many of you are thinking, "but doesn’t 'Islam' oppress women?" Let’s unpack that statement and see 1) what’s behind this perception, and 2) why Muslims themselves fiercely disagree with one another on these issues.

Pretty near the core of American culture is the automobile. The average family owns two or three of them, and from high school on, all of us, men and women, see cars as the extension of our personality, our pride (well, for men at least!), and our freedom. Gas prices notwithstanding, we’ll keep driving!